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Rich Tips is a free electronic newsletter published by Richard Male & Associates (RMA), a nonprofit consulting firm. Please send any suggestions or comments to nicolle@richardmale.com. Please give us a hand with our next Rich Tips issue, Budget Basics. Send your tips on this topic to nicolle@richardmale.com. Are there topics you'd especially like us to cover? Let us know! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This week's tips: Prospect Research Tactics As you probably already know, 85 percent of all private donations in America ($250 Billion) come from individuals, while less than 15 percent come from private foundations and corporations. This clearly indicates that all nonprofit organizations that raise philanthropic dollars need to devote time and energy to raising money from individuals. Although you won't generate dollars as quickly as you would from a private foundation, you have to remember that individual donors will stick with you for years, even decades. When developing a major donor program (typically $1,000+) you want to do your homework. You must research the individual prospects to get a clear picture of who they are and how much money they may be able to donate. For decades the largest nonprofits in the country have hired prospect researchers to pull together information on targeted individuals — the kind of information they research includes: --Assets --Gift potential --Biographical information such as size of family -- Giving history --Passions and interests The information is put into a two-to-three page profile and the prospect researcher makes some estimates about the giving potential of the donor. The CEO and the solicitors use this information when asking the potential donor for support. Generally the steps in prospecting for major donors include: 1. Identifying and qualifying the prospect 2. Making a list of prospects 3. Prospect research 4. Initial contact of the prospect 5. Discussion with the prospect about their interests and passions in an effort to pinpoint the "match" between their interests and your organization 6. Sending follow-up materials and thank-you letters 7. Setting up a strategy to ask for the gift 8. Solicitation In this week's Tips, we look at some of the reasons why prospect research becomes critical for major donor solicitation: 1. Saves time. When organizations and staff are already stretched thin, it becomes critical to correlate time with money, which means being as efficient as possible when gathering information prior to soliciting a donor. 2. Know your donor. When approaching a donor for a major gift it is important to understand who the donor is in terms of their interests, their professional background, giving potential, where they went to school, passions, etc. 3. Know what the donor is capable of giving. With proper research you sometimes find that a donor is capable of giving $10,000+ rather than just $1,000, which is something you clearly want to know prior to asking for a gift. This does not mean that you will always get what they are capable of giving, but it will give you an indication of their future potential 4. Rank your donors. Every year, you should sit down with your leadership and come up with a list of between 10-50 new "potential major donors" and develop a ranking or a priority process so you spend the most time with the largest giving potential. 5. Rifle rather than shotgun. Focus your time and effort on those prospects that you believe have a strong potential for turning into major donors. It may take three or four "cultivations" prior to the ask, but if you prioritize and focus your efforts, you are much more likely to succeed 6. Ask staff/board/volunteers. When identifying prospects, start off by asking your key stakeholders (staff, board, volunteers, existing donors) for names of people who you could begin cultivating this year. 7. Collect and save the background information. It is imperative that you have the discipline to collect information on prospects and donors. Information may include such things as their relationships and networks, where they went to college, boards on which they serve, birthdays, number and names of children, etc. All of this information MUST be put into an organized database. 8. Read the business sections, society pages, and local newspapers. On a daily basis make sure you read the local newspapers, business magazines, and other publications; clip out articles on people who just sold their business, moved up in the business world, and/or made significant donations to other organizations. Pay attention to the activities of the chamber of commerce, business groups, Rotary Clubs and other networks where people of wealth gather. 9. Consider hiring a consultant or prospect researcher. If the donation you will be asking for is large enough, it may be worth paying a professional $100-$150 dollars to conduct a prospect research report for you to gather the critical information described above. 10. Key web sites if you want to do this work yourself. If you just want to do a 'down and dirty' search for people, some of the key websites that Richard Male and Associates uses include: Google.com; Yahoo.com (go into people search); www.rpbooks.com (I Wave - this is a Canadian company that does sophisticated prospect research but will give you one day free); www.northernlight.com.
------------------------------------------------------------- New Grant Opportunities Skoll Foundation Through its Social Sector Program, the Skoll Foundation seeks to make a meaningful contribution to the development of 21st century infrastructure for social entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and the social sector, both in the United States and internationally. Through this program, the foundation will support the development of knowledge, tools, vehicles, pathways, and networks that meet the needs of social entrepreneurs, philanthropy, and the global social sector for information, resources, connection, transparency, and accountability. Special emphasis will be placed on opportunities to support work that promotes understanding of, expands, or improves capital markets for social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship; advances knowledge and practices concerning social entrepreneurship and philanthropy; and enhances the accountability and effectiveness of social entrepreneurship, philanthropy, or the social sector on a systemic level. For detailed information go to: http://www.skollfoundation.org/socialsectorprogram/ Rose Architectural Fellowships A program of the Enterprise Foundation, the Frederick P. Rose Architectural Fellowship is designed to promote architectural and community design in low-income neighborhoods. The fellowship fosters productive partnerships between architects and community development organizations and encourages architects to become lifelong leaders in public service and community development. Fellowship applicants submit project proposals created in partnership with nonprofit community development organizations. Selected fellows are embedded in communities for three years, where they work with their sponsors and other professionals to complete full-scale projects that include design, building, and/or rehabilitation. Each fellow receives guidance, support, and mentoring from local professionals. They also receive ongoing training from national experts, a $40,000 annual stipend, and a range of benefits, including healthcare. Prior to application, both the architect and the partner organization must develop a document based on their shared vision and goals. As part of the application process, they must develop a proposal that highlights a three-year work plan with tangible, measurable objectives. For detailed information go to: http://www.enterprisefoundation.org/majorinitiatives/rosefellowship/index.asp Surdna Foundation The Surdna Foundation makes grants to nonprofit organizations in the areas of environment, community revitalization, effective citizenry, the arts, and the nonprofit sector. It is strongly recommended that you read the specific guidelines for the program you are interested in applying to. For detailed information go to: http://www.surdna.org/information/apply.html Human Rights and Governance Grants Program OSI's Human Rights and Governance Grants Program (HRGGP) seeks proposals from national and international organizations to advance government accountability in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Mongolia . HRGGP will support efforts to promote public participation in and oversight of governmental activity, at both the national and local levels, including in the delivery of services. For detailed information go to: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/hrggp/focus_areas/b_accountability/guidelines Federal Grant Opportunities (if any of the following grants sound appealing, please contact Mourene Tesler to learn more about the application procedure - mourene@richardmale.com) ------------------------------- William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Programs--Grants for Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations Closing Date: April 11, 2005 Amount: $4,975,000 Estimated Range of Awards : $150,000-$250,000 per year Estimated Average Size of Awards: $200,000 per year Estimated Number of Awards: 20-33 Eligible Applicants: Federally recognized Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Applicable definitions of the terms ``Indian tribe'' and ``tribal organization'' are in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, 25 U.S.C. 450b. Agency/Department: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SUMMARY: The William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Programs (Even Start), including the grants for Indian tribes and tribal organizations, are intended to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities of low-income families by integrating early childhood education, adult literacy or adult basic education, and parenting education into a unified family literacy program. These programs are implemented through cooperative activities that: build on high-quality existing community resources to create a new range of educational services for most-in-need families; promote the academic achievement of children and adults; assist children from low-income families to meet challenging State content and student achievement standards; and use instructional programs that are based on scientifically based reading research and on the prevention of reading difficulties for children and adults, to the extent such research is available. A description of the required fifteen program elements for which funds must be used is included in the application package. Listed in: Federal Register: February 17, 2005 Volume 70, Number 32 Page 8085-8089 For detailed information go to: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/E5-657.htm
----------------------------------------------------------- Other Announcements Secondary Trauma Resiliency Training for those working in poverty and homelessness, presented by the HealthBridge Alliance. This innovative and interactive experience trains caregivers in skills to cope with the personal stresses of their work to reduce burnout and turnover. April 19-21 at the Foss Conference Center in the foothills of Jefferson County. The normal cost of the training is $340, but we are offering this training for the special low-rate of only $35 per person. Please contact Dace West at (720) 934-1066 or daceschlue@aol.com for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Feel free to forward this email to a friend. **To unsubscribe to this newsletter, please send an email with the words "Unsubscribe Rich Tips" in the subject line to nicolle@richardmale.com . ***To subscribe, please send an email with the words "Subscribe Rich Tips" in the subject line to nicolle@richardmale.com .
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